dipping one's toe in the water
Testing before committing
Dipping one's toe in the water is testing something cautiously before committing fully, like checking a pool's temperature before diving in.
The phrase suggests tentative exploration with minimal risk: She's dipping her toe in the water with a few online courses before enrolling full-time.
Sometimes shortened to dip a toe in.
- startingInitiating an action
- initiatingCausing to start
- baby stepsCautious incremental progress
- trialJudicial examination of claims
- trial runPreliminary test attempt
tentative · easing in · apprehensive · experiment · wary · embarking · sampling · risk-averse · hesitant · circumspect · playing it safe · probe · venturing · prudent · dabbling · cautious · launching · commencing
dipping one's toe in the watergoing all in
plunging in · taking the plunge · betting the farm · going for broke · burning one's bridges
dipping one's toe in the waterthrowing caution to the wind
rushing in · damn the torpedoes · reckless abandon · shooting from the hip · flying blind
dipped, dipping, dipper, toeing, waters, watered, watering, watery